Greek morpheme sought - Wordsmith.org

I'm looking for a Greek suffix, or affix of any kind, meaning 'one who does (something)', akin to Latin -ator.

TIA

Here's the list from Smyth's Greek Grammar §839:

a. The primary suffixes ta:, te:r, tor, tro, eu, denoting the agent or doer of an action, are masculine.

b. The primary suffixes trid, tria:, teira:, tid, are feminine.

c. The same root or verb-stem may have different suffixes denoting the agent: gen-e-te:s, gen-e-te:r, gen-e-to:r, 'begetter'; math-e:-tris or math-e:-tria, 'female pupil', fem. of math-e:-tis.

d. Words in -te:r, -tris, -eus are oxytone. Words in -to:r, -teira, -tria have recessive accent. Words in -te:s are oxytone or paroxytone.

e. See also on (nom. -o:n) §861.18.

861.18: on (nom. -o:n: primary, in words of agency: tekt-o:n 'carpenter', trug-o:n 'turtle-dove' (truzo: 'murmur'), klud-o:n 'wave' (kluzo: 'dash'; and in others, as eik-o:n 'image' (oika 'am like'), khi-o:n 'snow'.

You can search Liddell & Scott online, by these endings to find actual words or give you a feel as to how words might be coined. Hope this helps.

So terrorist would be something like deimo:n or deimotor?

Speaking of greek terrorists, would you have this segment of 60 Minutes [aired 2 1/2 years ago but anticipating today] in mind, Fadage?

[Veteran 60 Mininutes journalist Ed] Bradley claimed that the issue of terrorism in Greece concerns Washington in light of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, while saying that although no link has been uncovered tying "November 17", the inability of Greek authorities to hunt down the group's members may "attract" other terrorist organizations to Athens in 2004.
Bradley also described the U.S. embassy in Athens as a
veritable "fortress", adding that the U.S. State Department spends more money on the safety of U.S. diplomats in Greece than it does for any other country in the world.
Presenting Greece as a terrorist "paradise", the "60 Minutes" segment describing the Greek Parliament Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis as representing the "ultra-nationalist and anti-American" wing of the ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party.

For full story, go to:

http://news3.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-01/08/content_228506.htm

BTW "greek morpheme sought" is a good way to introduce "Jeeves isn't asking, he's telling" in the current issue of Red Herring mag.

Extract:
"Programmed searches are one way for search engines to set themselves apart � and provide links to their own content. But search engines must tread a fine line between giving bread-and-butter search results and bombarding users with superfluous content that drives frustrated searchers to the competition."

For full story, go to:
http://www.redherring.com/article.aspx?a=10791&hed=Jeeves+isn't+asking%2c+he's+telling

Well, I think it need sto be stuck onto a verb rather than a noun. There's a word phobetron 'scarecrow, bugbear, terror', maybe you could have phobetor or deimatote:s.

stuck onto a verb rather than a noun

Over to wordorigins they're looking for a word for 'fear of terrorists.' Personally I'd think it'd look a little funny to have the morpheme phob in it twice. Could we go with 'deimatotephobia'?

they're looking for a word for 'fear of terrorists.'

Ah. wasn't aware of this final criterion. How about deimatotriaphobia? Sorta rolls off the tongue. Don't know what those ancient and wily Greeks would make of it ... I personally will try to use phobetrophobia 'fear of scarecrows or bugbears' in conversation today, or perhaps during the weekly meeting as an agendum (agenda item).

they're looking for a word for 'fear of terrorists.'

Makes one wonder how the "ancient and wily greeks" would translate "fear of fear" because that is the essential sinister genius behind terrorism, as we all know.

As Winston Churchill said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself". And Churchill was then fighting a war which the free world could actually win by going to war, rather than by going to peace.

Or phoworse. I understand that some men are in terror of the phrase.

deimatotriaphobia

I like it. It's got it all over terroristphobia. I'll give you credit unless you want to go post it yourself.

http://p066.ezboard.com/fwordoriginsorgfrm1.showMessage?topicID=10768.topic

unless you want to go post it yourself.

Go right ahead, dear sir. Post on.

Post on

OK, but I'll need to know the elements. I think I've got pretty much everything but the -ri- part.

The suffix tria was one of the original ones I posted. I made a mistake as it seems to be feminine (unless all the terrorists are women).

There's a verb deimatoo: and a couple of compounds deima:to:de:s 'terrible, frightful' and deima:to:sis 'scaring'.

I guess deimatotrophobia, using tro instead of tria for the nomen agentis suffix.

Sorry about that ...

deimatotriaphobia ... I like it. It's got it all over terroristphobia.

This sounds like another variation on "What's a word?"

How can a word which no-one without an education in greek can begin to understand, let alone pronounce, have it "all over" a word which is simple, straight forward and self-explanatory and, which, to top it all off, also includes the word "phobia" for those craving a conspicuous greek root?

deimatotriaphobia. It is a miscreant which should be put out of its suffering. Only a greek mother tongue could love such a contortion, and I have it on good authority that Faldage has Irish, Scot and German forebears but nary a trace of greek to account for this perversity.

How can a word

And how does a poem mean? I wouldn't want anybody to get bent outta shape over my twee faux word nor its cousin terroristphobia.

But which would you prefer? Thiefdom or kleptocracy? Schizophrenia, dementia præcox, or splitmindedness? Renovation or againnewing?

Wortbildung oder Morphologie? Fernsprecher oder Telefon?

How does a poem mean?

Now there is a question worthy of the passions squandered over the entrails of "What's a word?"

My ridicule was not directed at you, dear jheem, who originated the word "dietormentaphobia" [or whatever it is], but rather at anyone who would prefer that unfortunate invention over a word like "terroristphobia" which exhibits no flaw other its flawless clarity and accessibility to ordinary readers.

OK, deimatatrophobia it is.

OK, deimatatrophobia it is.

It is if you say it is, but is it a "word" just because you say it is?

But which would you prefer? Thiefdom or kleptocracy? Schizophrenia, dementia pr�cox, or splitmindedness? Renovation or againnewing?

Since you asked, I prefer "schizophrenia" {which is pronounced with 3 beats), "dementia praecox" (pronounced with two) and "renovation" (pronounced with 3), but I abjure "deimatotriaphobia" which is almost unpronounceable, at least in english, with 6 beats because it is absurdly pretentious, especially considering there is a simple, serviceable and self-explanatory alternative readily available, namely, "terroristphobia", and, further, because the psychological condition we are describing with this word is not a mental disorder befitting a medical appellation, but a nearly-universal and, therefore, perfectly normal state of mind prevalent throughout most of North America, especially the United States.

there is a simple, serviceable and self-explanatory alternative readily available, namely, "terroristphobia"

I count 8 syllables in deimatotriaphobia (well 9 in the South) which isn't the final pretendo-word I've settled on: deimatotrophobia which weighs in at 7. Trouble with terroristphobia is that it's a weenie word rather than a pretendo-word. Weenie words are coined by beat poets who can't tell the diff tween beats and syllables. Finally, terroristphobia is not even pronounceable as a word, whereas deimatotrophobia is elegant.

The thing about phobias is they're supposed to be learned and pretendo in extremis. Not some slapshod, plebian pseudo-twaddle. Next you'll be suggesting mongrel abortions such as epicaricacy instead of epichaerikakia or some such.

The weird thing about this thread is not denying a pretendo-word its meaninghood, but saying that a perfectly meaningful and utile word like fuller or emptier is not a word. What gives? In what country? Whatchamacallistan? My freedom glass is empty, but your bolshie one is even emptier.

Whatchamacallistan? My freedom glass is empty, but your bolshie one is even emptier.

Bravo! jheem. I am impressed with your poetry, if not with your argument. The fact is I did not invent the word "terroristphobia", nor did I say that it was the best of all possible choices.

What I did say, I think you know, is that "terroristphobia" is vastly to be favored over an ungainly word like "deimatotriaphobia" [which I am in serious danger of remembering should I spell it correctly one more time].

As for "beats" and "syllables", ordinary people like myself do not count syllables when we pronounce words, especially those we encounter for the first time. We feel the beat, or the rhythm, of the word, almost instinctively.

"Beat" poets and rappers are not the only people who appreciate poetry which is respectful of the rhythm of words as well as the rhyme. But, you already know that. You are a poet yourself.

You are straining mightily, dear jheem, to take offence to what I have said about your word [which I refuse to spell one more time for reasons already explained], but I have not faulted you for inventing a word which fails to come up to my standards [let alone your own], I have faulted the arbiter of this word challenge for favoring this absurdly pretentious, unpronounceable word over a much simpler choice which is accessible to anyone.

I do not frown on your freedom to create new words, jheem. I exult in it. But in turn I should have the freedom to express an honest opinion on the merits of your candidates for the approbation of the self-proclaimed arbiter of this challenge.

What is undemocratic here, if anything, is the arbiter's proclamation that his choice, however misguided, is "it", thus closing the discussion.

You are straining mightily [...] to take offence to what I have said about your word [...] I have faulted the arbiter of this word challenge for favoring this absurdly pretentious, unpronounceable word over a much simpler choice which is accessible to anyone.

No offence taken. As I wrote earlier I find that deimatotrophobia is easier to pronounce and doesn't violate important aesthetic criteria, e.g., ease of pronunciation, prosody (your beats, perhaps), not having the clump "stph" in't. I'm not exactly overjoyed with my coinage, but the other one (neologized by some media drone no doubt) is even less satisfying. (How about fear of terrorists? Much better than terroristphobia, unless you're going for the highfalutin' factor, in which case deimatotrophobia wins easily with a gloss.) In the end, you have your preference and are free to use it, I mine, though I can't really imagine myself using either word in conversation or print, and the Arbiter Faldaceus is free to pick whichever word he wants to, too.

That having been said, and in conclusion—there always being an in conclusion (cf. yeahbut®)—, alqaidaphobia, or even militiaphobia, would be preferable.

word

and the Arbiter Faldaceus is free to pick whichever word he wants to, too

Make that Arbiter Falacious, jheem, and we are in perfect, faldictitious accord.

And may I say, respectfully, jheem, you are being a bit of an insurrectionist here in proffering new candidates for the approbation of the Arbiter Falacious after he has already pronounced your earlier offering, however half-heartedly advanced, as "it".

Personally, I think the Arbiter's anointment of the word "deimatotriaphobia" [which I have now spelled correctly again in dereliction of my own better judgment] should be emblazoned on his escutcheon [along with his other trophies].

I think it's important for us to know what the people in wordorigins want for fear of terrorists to mean. A phobia, byits common usage, refers to an irrational fear, at least one that is irrational to the disinterested observer or psychotherapist. I can understand that there might be an irrational fear of terorists, but there's also a rational fear of terrorism )and by extension the terrorists who commit such acts.)

Arbiter Falacious

If you're going to play fast and easy with my screen name, I much prefer the name BobB on the late lamented Cafe Dartre came up with, Falderol.

I think it's important for us to know what the people in wordorigins want for fear of terrorists to mean.

Now that's cutting to the quick of it, TEd Rem!

Fear of terrorism, and by extension fear of those who perpetrate it, is not a phobia in a country on "orange" alert. It is a state-sponsored, state-sanctioned state of mind.

You might even go so far as to say that the state and the public state of mind are of one mind on this. Fear of terrorism is a civic duty, if not an act of patriotism.

One might argue that an "orange" alert, or even the more ubiquitous "yellow" alert, is not a generator of fear, it is only a call for a heightened awareness of suspicious circumstances.

But what is it that the public is to be suspicious of 24/7?

People plotting deadly, indiscriminate harm to innocent men, women and children in virtually every major street of every major city, and, in particular, at every major public event where throngs are packed together so tight any false alarm might trigger a stampede potentially as deadly as any actual act of terrorism.

Is such a state of mind irrational? Only if you impute that irrationality to the state of mind of the state which sanctions or sponsors it.

I much prefer the name BobB on the late lamented Cafe Dartre came up with, Falderol.

A Fool and his pet name are soon parted, Faldage.

It is the price of Fooldum.

I think it's important for us to know what the people in wordorigins want for fear of terrorists to mean.

Hoo, boy, as Longhorn Leghorn used to say: "It's a joke!". When I coined the word, I felt it should mean something like 'irrational fear of the bugbears', but Faldage didn't care for phobetrophobia. (I also felt that alqaedaphobia would have been preferable, because that captures the xenophobia stirred up by the current crop of terrorists that was not evident after the domestic, homespun Federal Building in Oklahoma act of terrorism. Especially, since al-qaeda is a term coined by the US Department of State and not anything that these same terrorists use, like, say, the IRA or the Tamil Tigers) I felt this caught the flavor of the current regime's in need of a change in DC pumping up of the public with the complicit help of what is politically correctly known as the "Liberal" media. Rather than work on a viable foreign policy, the current batch of good old boys in DC have chosen a tried and true method: war frenzy. But I digress. The word I settled on has a taste of 'the fear of the frighteners' which I like, and which I felt tied in with Lucretius' view of superstitions that frighten adults like children frightened of the dark. There, now you know why I coined the word. I wonder what can be said for the folks who foisted terroristphobia on us?

The word I settled on has a taste of 'the fear of the frighteners' which I like, and which I felt tied in with Lucretius' view of superstitions that frighten adults like children frightened of the dark.

Good analysis, jheem.

How about "phobiaphobia"?

After all, the strategic mission of terrorists is not to produce acts of terrorism on the scale of the terror which those acts produce, but to produce a public state of mind which renders further acts of terrorism redundant.

Since the fallout from 9-11 has produced a public perception, whether credible or not, that all acts of terrorism wherever they occur in the world are coordinated by a master terrorist and, therefore, ultimately directed at 'us', the terrorists who actually have 'us' in their sights don't actually have to do anything ... except, perhaps, keep the back channels humming with disinformation.

This week's quote:

A man who uses a great many words to express his meaning is like a bad marksman who, instead of aiming a single stone at an object, takes up a handful and throws at it in hopes he may hit.

-Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)

A Fool and his pet name are soon parted

Suit yourself, but have you taken a vote? Just among yourselves, mind.

A man who uses a great many words to express his meaning is like a bad marksman who, instead of aiming a single stone at an object, takes up a handful and throws at it in hopes he may hit.

OK, but you doesn't have to call me Mister Johnson.

I'll only throw two stones, and if neither hits I'll throw the one left in my pocket.

terroscare: Inflections are cool; Greek is for geeks.

Ex. Terroscares are frequent here in New York so therefore no one here is terroscared.

draculaconian: After Vlad the Impaler (Prince Dracula), whose cruelty instilled unbounded loyalty into his terrified subjects, and who once had 20,000 of his innocent citizens impaled on wooden stakes and left standing (so to speak) outside the city walls as an object lesson for the rampaging, but practical, blood-thirsty Huns.

Ex. Al-Qaeda's Draculaconian practices here in the States were answered today by the capture and immediate beheading of baby killer Usuma bin Laden.

Well?

A man who uses a great many words to express his meaning is like a bad marksman who, instead of aiming a single stone at an object, takes up a handful and throws at it in hopes he may hit.

Colorful quote, AnnaS.

If Samuel Johnson were around today, he might have been drawn to the imagery of "carpet bombing" rather than stone throwing.

The thing about "carpet bombing", AnnaS, it does run the enemy out of its lair.

Just kiddin'. There aren't any enemies here. Just self-proclaimed "Fools" and those who are honoring them with the recognition they deserve.

Suit yourself

You are wearing the clown suit, Faldage. I'm just joining in the sport.

I would like our dialogue to remain jocular, dear Faldage. In that spirit, may I offer one respectful word of advice [or perhaps it is more than a "word" - a subject perhaps for a new thread?].

A Fool who takes himself too seriously is in danger of becoming the very thing he aspires merely to play at.